Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
"I hate to say this," Kale tells the others after he returns from the trip, "But it looks to me like this 'Duchess' might have fallen on hard times, if she's really the one who lives there and lost her daughter. The Crooked House isn't the manor overflowing with wealth that I hoped it'd be. In fact, Thursday's place looks like a palace by comparison, at least from the outside. And on top of that, if we're looking for a grave with a treasure, we've got over three hundred to search through before we find the right one. Hopefully there won't be too many white flowers around. Or one of you can detect magic to save us some time." He sighs. "Well, let's get going... we won't achieve anything by sitting around here and talking about it, and maybe if we move quickly enough, the house won't have escaped too far away from the direction we last saw it."
Kale carefully describes to the others exactly what the house and the dirty, run-down street it was located on look like, so that everyone can keep a sharp eye out for the neighborhood. He also commands the choker to do the same as previously - sneak, guard, and defend the party, although without initiating attacks on its own.
As usual, he keeps a vigilant eye out on their surroundings, trying to spot both danger and the Crooked House, from the ground this time.
Perception with Disadvantage: 15
(if anyone wants to help Kale look that'd be a.... edit, a 26 because Whitegaze is helping now to negate disadvantage, and the first roll was higher.)
(Whitegaze would help keep watch on the way over.)
Whitegaze will try to stay near the rear of the group as they travel to discourage anyone who might consider ambushing the party.
Intimidation: 18
(Since Whitegaze is helping, Kale's first perception check would have been a 26 - the first roll before disadvantage was imposed. But, if you prefer a clean reroll, I can do another perception check with no disadvantage here: 31 )
Growing irritation with the rain (even though her improvised umbrella was in place again) made Al-Ashari to do something reckless - approach the house and knock on a door with her own hand.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
As the group moves up to the house...
The door to the house stands on a battered porch, and lies slightly ajar. A wilted jar of lilies has been left outside the door, along with a horseshoe hanging from the lintel.
The door is ajar, and it creaks noisily when knocked on, echoing inside and down the street. Inside, the hallway is wallpapered with images of small winged baby lizards and cats with no fur. It is peeling off the walls, leaving large bare patches.
Feste the Butler, a human male commoner dressed in shabby servants gear, comes to answer the door. He is aged, and bald. He invites the characters to The Study.
Hanging up in the hallway on a hatstand are various coats and bags. One of these looks like a Bag of Holding to anyone who scores higher than a 14 on an Arcana check.
Adjacent to the hall, a small study reveals the source of the light and warmth. A merry fire lights this room, it is packed with books from floor to ceiling. A desk sits at the far end, at which sits the Duchess of Mordentshire.
Crouched over a desk in the far corner, a thin and gaunt woman is draped dramatically on a large armchair. She is dressed entirely in black, with a mourning veil covering her face. The Duchess appears to be in mourning, or so she presents herself. Apparently unable to contain her grief, she makes large overly emotional shows of misery and wailing at every opportunity. If asked about the source of her misery, she cries out for her “Cecilia!”, and descends into sobbing.
If shown kindness, or understanding, the Duchess calms down a little and relays her story.
The Duchess composes herself, and in between episodes of wailing and gnashing of teeth, begins to tell her tale. “She’s gone! My Cecilia, my baby bird, my only child! What cruel world is this to take a mother’s daughter from her side, rent from me, taken!”
This carries on until the Duchess is interrupted. Over the conversation, she reveals that her daughter Cecilia never came home one night, seven days past. She suspects her daughter, a young and beautiful woman, might have been taken by criminals. suggesting they might want to look around for evidence.
(Treasure? Treasure! Arcana check: 6 Edit: SAD FACE)
Kale takes out his lute and begins to strum a soothing melody. He thinks for a bit, and then hums a few well-known platitudes about love, and bonding, and the tenderness of a relationship that could only be understood between a parent and a child. It's all bullshit, of course, as it's something Kale had never personally experienced, but such things have always sold well with the crowd, and he attempts to do the same here. It seems to be working, as the Duchess relays her tale to the rest of the group.
"My dear, suffering Duchess," Kale replies sorrowfully. "We will try to help you to the best of our abilities. But to do that, we may need to look about your house and grounds. To see the things your Cecilia saw, to touch the things your Cecilia touched. We may perhaps even need to take a trinket or two with us to study, and stay close in spirit to your dear girl. We may learn to know how unique and special she was, and what about that spark of vivacity so caught these criminals' attentions. Please, give us your leave and blessing to do such, and our search will be greatly aided."
He's laying it on thick, but the Duchess seems to be the dramatic type, and having permission before taking is always better than simply taking.
Soveliss, upon entering the building snaps his fingers a few times, drying everyone in the party of the rain from outside. He then begins to look around the room of the study, keeping to himself as Kale seems to take the lead on speaking with the Dutchess. Even if he personally can't stomach the needlessly overdramatic, he had learned long ago that some people responded better to it. Still, it took him a fair share of willpower to not roll his eyes.
Arcane: 15
(post-roll) Noting the bag of holding, he turns his attention elsewhere. He already had one, and it wasn't such rare a thing that it required more of his attention.
(in this study, aside from the bag, are there any books of interest or other strange documents. Maybe a map?)
Investigation(if needed): 14
Before doing anything else, Al-ashari looked at the Duchess quite intently while she was occupied with honest or theatrical mourning, studying thought of the woman: Detect Thoughts
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Whitegaze would remain outside looking at the graves, looking to see how many had white lilies on them.
Hidden away around the back of the house are a set of tombstones, all set in a line. The most recent says “Barnabus - Devoted Husband, Loving Father,
Quiet Corpse.”
A 10 minutes search, paying attention to the writing on the stones, reveals they are all male, and died at various points in the last few thousand years. Some piles of rubble indicate where graves used to lie before time and weather eroded them.
Give me a Nature check...
Her thoughts seem to be focused entirely on her daughter.
Nature: 8
Taking a long drink from a jug of water on the table near at hand, the Dutchess glances to the window, as if looking for someone. She then turns back to the group.
"Yes, feel free to look all you wish." She gives her approval. "My home is open to you, seek out and search anywhere inside you wish." She then glances back to the window.
Al-Ashari stopped her impolite probing and walked to the woman: "We are very sorry for your loss, Madam and as my companion said, we will do everything to help. May I ask why would you suspect some criminals? Did you get threatening letters? Was someone following Cecilia outside the house? Was she afraid of someone or something? Where did she went the day she disappeared?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
When he's done speaking to the Duchess, Kale asks Feste to lead him to Cecilia's room. He casts about, eying the group to see if anyone wants to come with him to explore the rest of the house.
Thursday steps forward to follow Kale
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Soveliss glances over to them, and nods his head. Within a few short flaps, his Raven flutters over to Kale's shoulder and lets a out a small caw. Soveliss, his attention still on the books, calls out, "If you find something of note or require my expertise on some matter, do not hesitate to call. I'll see what I can find here."
Looking around you find an area of the graves that appear to have had some flowers placed on them often. There are none there now, but it looks like someone has been placing them there in the past.
The only flowers you find are in the garden though, where rosemary and lilies both are found.
The Dutches begins to cry and wail in absolute anguish and sobs, unable to respond or talk for the moment.
the books here all appear to be books of reading, nothing useful.